Getting black ash from Canna w/ long flush.

[MischiefGrows]

I just finished my second round with Canna A/B for coco. They were both very good grows without any deficiencies or burning or any stress at all really. I aim for a 2.5 week flush but some of the strains ended up taking longer than i thought so some even got closer to a 3.5 week flush. However, even with up to 25 days with only plain water, my joints are still burning off a dark black ash with very little to no grey in it. It comes out looking like top shelf meds and the flavor is there and its not harsh at all ( but I know there could be more flavor and it could even be a little smoother). I want my ashes to fall off as white powder and I'm getting the very opposite- it's driving me crazy. I do a feed, feed, water. I start flowering with my ppm's at about 900 and bump up to 1250 or so and then back down after week 5 or so. I use tap water that has a starting ppm of about 50-100 depending on the time of year (i have considered this to be the source of my troubles but no one else seems to think that low of ppm's from tap would cause problems). Other products that i use:botanicare calmag- in flowering i use this at a ration of 2 parts calmag to 3 parts AB for the first 2 weeks. Then i drop it to 1 part CM to 2 parts AB (ex. 5 ML CM to 10 ML of A and B.)PK 13/14- I use this on the middle week, for an 8 weeker i use it on week 4 and for a 10 weeker i use it on week 5. I use it for only one week. Two times in that week @ 6 ML/gallon. I have also considered this a source of causing problems. My plants always seem to like it just fine but perhaps i should start with a lower dose? I would imagine if i was locking out nutrients from my plant, i would be able to tell by the way my plants look first, right? not from ashes 6 weeks later after its dried and cured.Carboload- i use this pretty much up until flush at 6 ML/gallon.Sugaree- I just use this for the last few weeks before flush at 6 ML/gallon.Clearex- Used the first few flushes at 10 ML/gallon.That's it. No weird sprays or any sprays or pesticides at all in flowering. I used botanicare pro previously and never had problems with my ashes burning black like i am with canna. Any help?

 

[MischiefGrows]

I always water/feed to 30% runoff. I start pH @ 5.8 and move up to 6.0 by week 2 of flowering.

 

[Joe Fresh]

well i think the addition of cal/mag in such high doses may be the culprit, or atleast adding to it....canna coco nutes are designed to be used with coco, without the addition of cal/mag...

do you foliar spray at all with anything?


if plants were grown correctly, then it is quite possible this happened in the drying phase.....you can grow the best weed in the world, but the fuck it up in the drying phase....when it comes to quality, imo 60% is in the grow, 40% is in the drying process


bud that was dried too fast will do this...bud that was stored too moist will also do this...buds with molds will also burn fucked up...ect..

 

[MischiefGrows]

No sprays. I have considered my drying/curing process to be the culprit as well. The grow previous to this last round, I had some issues with my drying process- dealing with low humidity, i believe the buds dried to quickly ending the curing process before it began. However, this time i have gone by the books completely and am still facing black ash. I am still considering this to be the problem but am starting to have my doubts as this last round is 2 weeks in jars and still burning black. maybe i jarred too early this time?Thank you for your help though.

 

[Joe Fresh]

well, as for drying...i usually trim all buds wet, to 3" or less...put them in dry racks for 4-5 days, or untill they are dry to the touch and some stems snap...then i bag it for a day or so to sweat the humidity so the bud is now evenly moist...then put it back on the racks untill the stem is snapping on most buds, then its back in a zip-zag bag and sealed for sale....

although it may sound simple, i dont use any jars, i dont cure for long periods of time, only the time i sweat the buds and the slow dry...i always get white/light grey ash

how long does it usually take you to dry your weed? what is your trim/dry process?

 

[MischiefGrows]

I followed Simons drying/curing method this round. Keeping humidity @50-65 and temps low 50's to 65 (having problems with consistency in the closet. even with a humidifier and a dehumidifier working at the same time). It took 6-8 days to dry depending, and i jarred it when the tiniest stems first started to barely snap, while the larger brances would bend and not quite snap but almost.

 

[MischiefGrows]

Perhaps i have jarred too early this time? I am trying to make sure not to dry them too fast this time- that may have simply been the problem in the past- so i can see me having jarred just a little too early.

 

[Delerium]

A lot of my buddies run Canna, they got me 2 try it and their flowers always burn clean. I have a flower from one of them right here I'll spark up and check it out again.
Isn't the carboload like pk13/14?

 

[Joe Fresh]

A lot of my buddies run Canna, they got me 2 try it and their flowers always burn clean. I have a flower from one of them right here I'll spark up and check it out again.
Isn't the carboload like pk13/14?

carboload is sugars, nothing more

 

[MischiefGrows]

Lol. well thanks, guys. Sounds like i need to work on my dry/curing process before i give myself a headache trying to figure out where risiduals may be coming from.It still seems odd to me that the drier pieces wouldnt burn more grey- Or the drier they get, i feel they should start to burn less black if moisture is the culprit.

 

[Joe Fresh]

Lol. well thanks, guys. Sounds like i need to work on my dry/curing process before i give myself a headache trying to figure out where risiduals may be coming from.It still seems odd to me that the drier pieces wouldnt burn more grey- Or the drier they get, i feel they should start to burn less black if moisture is the culprit.

essentially moisture is not the culprit, it would be other things that are no evaporating, like chlorophil and/or other residuals

 

[MischiefGrows]

ok. that is making more sense.

 

[OrganicGanja]

I had the very same problem when I was running cannas coco line w canna coco. I think it has a little to do with the fact that coco is ground coconut husks and coconut trees are grown only in warm salt water regions. This makes coco have a very high salt content when its dry or drying out. With coco I find you will always get that dark ash with a more salty taste to your herb as long as your letting it dry out even the littlest bit before harvest IMO. The best cocos are fully rinsed coco coir. Botanicare has a really good fully rinsed coco that doesnt have as salty of a taste. IMHO tho its more hype. Or maybe I never got it dialed in to perfection either but even with true living organics coco does taste a lil saltyer. Again just my two cents. CHEEBA CHEERS

 

[MischiefGrows]

^This has been on my mind recently as i had been previously running larger girls and towards the end they start to dry up quicker- having to water ever day- sometimes they would be completely dry when i went in (light as a feather from the pot). And i had recently been reading into what happens when coco dries out because i know that its not supposed to. I have now switched to smaller plants in same size pots- I am harvesting Grape Apes and Blue Dreams in the next few weeks and they will not have dried out.. I'll make it a point to keep them from drying out and see if that changes things.Thanks for your imput OrganicGanja!

 

[Delerium]

Oh yea, I smoked that shit and no black ash

 

[Natural]

maybe less sugars..and instead of clearex, flush with 1/4 strength base..then your 2 weeks of just water.
edit: you are in coco right?


ps rip brent..saw him a few times

 

[MischiefGrows]

maybe less sugars..and instead of clearex, flush with 1/4 strength base..then your 2 weeks of just water.
edit: you are in coco right?


ps rip brent..saw him a few times

Ok. have been considering backing off the sugars. When you say flush with 1/4 base, you mean just my Canna A/B? Could you explain this a little, please?- to help me understand how this would help the process.

 

[Natural]

Ok. have been considering backing off the sugars. When you say flush with 1/4 base, you mean just my Canna A/B? Could you explain this a little, please?- to help me understand how this would help the process.

Ya know I'm not really sure how they separate the A & B.. if it's Macro and Micro..so I cannot give you a straight answer on that..All I know is that they are supposed to be used in equal amounts. So, at the start of flush instead of using clearex..I would just use base whatever you think, maybe A & B together. The point is that a low amount of salts (your base) is going to flush the coco a lot better than water alone. Plus I don't like clearex after researching how it works and what others have to say.
As for the sugars...I was thinking that Carboload and Sugaree are going to be very similar and that is a lot of sugars for not having to feed beneficials. I've noticed a black ash when over-doing the molasses before.

 

[MischiefGrows]

Thanks. That makes plenty sense. I have also noticed a rise in pH after the first few flushes- maybe just flushing with the base as you recommended will help with this as well. I use roots oregonisms for beneficials about once a week- and i usually only use CL. I only use sugaree for about a week before i start my flush- i think i'm gonna drop the sugaree all together though and back off the carboload earlier.

 

[Delerium]

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